


A Happy Family

by Winterironsoldier



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: F/F, F/M, Past Child Abuse, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-01
Updated: 2018-12-01
Packaged: 2019-09-05 08:01:25
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,290
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16806637
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Winterironsoldier/pseuds/Winterironsoldier
Summary: Most people unfamiliar with the system, pictured happy children getting a second chance at having a family. Those who had gone through it themselves knew the actual truth.Most foster parents were only out for the government checks and tax returns that they got out of fostering children and as long as the child seemed healthy to the social workers, they were left alone to do whatever they wanted.Adora had only ever been in one home and that had been with Melany and her husband, Howard Weaver. They were definitely the most unfit fosters that she knew of and living with them had been hell on Earth.





	A Happy Family

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this based on a Tumblr prompt I saw today and I felt that it was about time that I write an actual account on how living with PTSD is like since I actually have it.

A weathered wooden sign for free cats sat against a cloudy storefront window and Adora knelt down to peer inside the soggy box of mewling kittens. One, two… Five kittens resided inside and she scooped the box up, balancing her umbrella in her left hand.

How could someone abandon so many of them, especially when they were so small and vulnerable? From the blue of their eyes and flat ears, they even looked like newborns. She didn't even want to look at the runt of the litter. It wasn't mewling at all and something was wrong with its eyes. Is this how far humanity has fallen?

She held the dilapidated box close and took off down the street, splashing through puddles and shoveling past pedestrians. This was New York City and Goddess only knows how crowded these streets could be, not to mention how dangerous. Just the other day, a homeless man had had the gall to pull a knife on her. Luckily for her, she had experience in fighting and thus, only got off with a cut on her cheek.

She turned a corner and stomped her way up rickety stairs and into the abandoned house that she had made into a home for herself and other wayward teens like herself. The only difference being that she was a sort of mother hen for everyone there, being as she was the only one older than seventeen and with two jobs that helped support everyone younger than thirteen.

Those of them that were older than thirteen worked, whether it be mowing or actual work. Even the littles helped out with a weekly lemonade stand that racked an average of fifty a day.

“Glimmer, Bow, you home?” She called, kicking the door shut and toeing her muddy shoes off.

Glimmer wasn't an actual member of their wayward house, she was actually the senator of New York's daughter and with her influence on her mother, it made it easy for the senator to turn her pretty little head away when the numbers in their division didn't add up. That's also where Bow comes in handy; his father was the chief of police and as such, he could easily get in contact with other criminals and the like. He picked up some pretty handy skills from most of them and now they had free air conditioning and electricity. The only thing that was paid for was the house.

Glimmer and Bow weren't answering, they were probably at their jobs around now. They both worked at the local Goodwill and Metro station.

She walked into the kitchen and set the box on the counter. The cats needed a bath to wash away all of the dirt on their little bodies and there is no time like the present.

Adora pushed her sleeves up and started bathing the cats. The injured one was the last one to be bathed and it cried louder than the rest when it came time to dry it off.

Now without all of the dirt hiding it, she could see singe marks and a gasp left her as her gaze fell on its eyes. They were open and missing. Whether it was born like that or the neighborhood punks had gotten to it, she wasn't sure but she did run her fingers through its tufts of fur.

The kittens were probably hungry about now and she reached into the cabinet with the injured cat held close and she took two cans of tuna out. Cats like fish, right?

She emptied the cans on a plate and pushed it on the floor to the pile of kittens. She placed injured one directly in front of it and waited until it started to eat to leave them all alone.

Her good deed was done for the day and she walked to the living room and to the couch that they had only managed to buy the other day. It was tattered and well-used but it was a couch all the same. She sat down on it and flicked her phone up.

Five messages from Catra and fifteen missed calls from Melany. Chills raced through her and she tossed her phone to the side, pulling her knees up to her face and burying her face into them. Melany Weaver was her foster mother and even a year out of that system, it still followed her like dark shadows through her day to day life and dreams.

Most people unfamiliar with the system, pictured happy children getting a second chance at having a family. Those who had gone through it themselves knew the actual truth.

Most foster parents were only out for the government checks and tax returns that they got out of fostering children and as long as the child seemed healthy to the social workers, they were left alone to do whatever they wanted. Adora had only ever been in one home and that had been with Melany and her husband, Howard Weaver. They were definitely the most unfit fosters that she knew of and living with them had been hell on Earth.

Now, Howard had never touched her  _ like that _ but Melany had made sure that Adora knew her place in their household. Breakfast had to be prepared at five o'clock every morning, no tardiness would be allowed and the failure to have a nicely presented dish would result in a trip to the basement.

Fear curled at her insides, seeping into her very nerves and panic followed suit. She could almost remember her first time in the basement, every feeling and word lashed out at her. If she let herself fall into the memory, she would be back there again and aga-

The door opened with a louder than normal thud and Adora jumped to her feet, squared her shoulders and pressed her feet together. Her gaze was focused straight ahead if she didn't move, Melany would have no reason to hit her or burn out cigarettes on her skin. Just. Don't. Move.

“Uh, Adora, what are you doing?” Bow asked and just like that, she fell onto her knees. The relief was instantaneous and she tried to not allow it to show on her face.

“Just- we have cats now!” She tried to cheer it out but her voice came out in short gasps. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't catch her breath. The pain wouldn't stop.

“Oh, shit- Glimmer?!” Bow called in alarm as his hands went to her shoulders. “Adora? Adora? You're okay. You're not-”

“Adora, deep breaths in and out.” Glimmer was there, somewhere. She wasn't sure where exactly but she was there and she was talking. That was something at least. “Adora!”

Right.

She took several, aching deep breaths inside of her compressed lungs and it burned. It was like her lungs weren't made for breathing and each breath was one more thing drowning and pulling her under until inevitability-

A cat mewled up at her and she blinked, gazing down at the perpetrator. It was the cat with no eyes and she was staring back. Well, not staring exactly but it felt like it was.

“Nice… kitty.” She gasped out, scratching its head until it began purring playfully.

Neither Glimmer or Bow were speaking to her, they understood her need for no talking after her attacks. They were great friends in that way.

The kitten rolled onto its side and clawed at her hand, pushing its feet at it and even biting. It sure was a playful little guy.

“Clawdeen. I'll name you, Clawdeen.” It took her several moments to gasp the simple name out but it still brought a smile to her face. So it made it more than worth it.


End file.
